Author Topic: what's all the hoo ha about a DC fan?  (Read 14464 times)

SusanJoM

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what's all the hoo ha about a DC fan?
« on: October 15, 2015, 08:39:29 AM »
I'm playing catch up here.

I've seen comments about DC fans before and paid no attention because as far as I can tell the current fan is pretty damn good and if anything needs damping down (variacs etc).  Then yesterday I read a post saying the oem fan is "sluggish".
Now I'm really confused.  What would be the reason to get a DC fan and for which operation (roasting or cooling or both), etc.  I do understand that putting one inline into the vent might be a nice clean solution to the exhaust/vent bowl, but what else should I know about a DC fan?

Someone enlighten me please.

Offline rawman

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Re: what's all the hoo ha about a DC fan?
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2015, 01:15:27 PM »
I can't answer for anyone else's hoo ha....  But, my reason for wanting a  DC vs AC fan is the ease in controlling it.  I understand the AC fan speed is fairly easily controlled by a variac or dimmer.  There are also ways to electronically control an AC fan, but it is somewhat more complicated from what I read. 

What I want is to have the control of the fan integrated into Artsian so I can click a button and have the fan speed at 25/50/75%, etc, without having to worry about guesswork on a dimmer switch or variac.  There is a lot of information available about using the TC4C board to control the heat and fan speed in a hot top.  I want to do the same on my huky when it arrives. 

Eventually I may even look into a proportional control valve for the propane which would also allow electronically control of the gas/flame level.  There are lots of threads on homeroasters.org,  however for me that part is far down the road.   

Offline thusband

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Re: what's all the hoo ha about a DC fan?
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2015, 02:32:22 PM »
I thought a DC fan had higher torque, thus better speed control.  The AC fan moves air but it seems to take a while to spin up.  Sometimes if I need to move from, say, 25% to 50% quickly  I'll crank it up to 75% and then back down to 50%.  Also I might not have needed the $70 Variac and gotten by with a $10 DC controller.

Offline Gregr

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Re: what's all the hoo ha about a DC fan?
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2015, 08:19:52 PM »
I thought a DC fan had higher torque, thus better speed control.  The AC fan moves air but it seems to take a while to spin up.  Sometimes if I need to move from, say, 25% to 50% quickly  I'll crank it up to 75% and then back down to 50%.  Also I might not have needed the $70 Variac and gotten by with a $10 DC controller.

What he said. It's a little slow to react. It seems very effective at speeding up or slowing down the roast but I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount to cut down the spin up time.
Huky, Pasquini G4, Compak K10

SusanJoM

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Re: what's all the hoo ha about a DC fan?
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2015, 07:47:05 AM »
Ah....that .makes sense.
Since I don't use my fan for fine tuning the progress of the roast, obviously it is not something I need.
Thanks for clarifying.

Susan

 

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